Spice and Wolf: MERCHANT MEETS THE WISE WOLF Ep. 10 “Wisdom of a Wolf and Smooth Talk of a Merchant” is the promised dawn after the long night that was the previous episode. We get Lawrence and Holo seeing a glimmer of hope in their dark situation in this episode. All because of a shepherd girl who may really be a friendly wolf in sheep’s clothing.

Spice and Wolf: MERCHANT MEETS THE WISE WOLF Ep. 10 “Wisdom of a Wolf and Smooth Talk of a Merchant”: Details

Spice and Wolf: MERCHANT MEETS THE WISE WOLF NA key visual.
The dawn is getting very much visible here.

Spice and Wolf: MERCHANT MEETS THE WISE WOLF Ep. 10 “Wisdom of a Wolf and Smooth Talk of a Merchant” is the 10th episode (you can check out my reviews for Ep. 1, Ep. 2, Ep. 3, Ep. 4, Ep. 5, Ep. 6, Ep. 7, Ep. 8, and Ep. 9 here) of season 1 (which hopefully won’t be the only one) of this reboot anime series by studio Passione (Citrus, Mieruko-chan, Yuri Is My Job!). Said anime series is the reboot of the 2008 anime Spice and Wolf by studios Imagin (season 1) and the duo of Brain’s Base and Marvy Jack (season 2). Said original anime series (along with this reboot) are the anime adaptations of the light novel series of the same name by Isuna Hasekura (World End Economica, Magdala de Nemure). Crunchyroll is the company licensing this anime for its NA release.

Yū Yabuuchi is the director behind Spice and Wolf: MERCHANT MEETS THE WISE WOLF Ep. 10 “Wisdom of a Wolf and Smooth Talk of a Merchant”, with Kizawa Yukito as the writer, and Takeshi Takahashi doing the storyboard. As for the anime as a whole, we do still know that Hijiri Sanpei is the director. Takeo Takahashi is actually returning from the original 2008 anime series as the chief director. Tatsuhiko Urahata is the overall writer, with Kevin Penkin (Made in Abyss, Tower of God, Bye Bye, Earth) as the composer for the music you hear in this reboot anime.

Speaking of music: the opening theme music for this reboot anime is “Tabi no Yukue” by Hana Hope. Meanwhile,  “Andante” by ClariS is the ending theme music for the same.

Voice Cast

Spice and Wolf: MERCHANT MEETS THE WISE WOLF Ep. 10 “Wisdom of a Wolf and Smooth Talk of a Merchant” features the voices of Jun Fukuyama (J. Michael Tatum in English dub) as Kraft Lawrence and Ami Koshimizu (Brina Palencia in English dub) as Holo the Wise Wolf. The other notable voice in this episode is Mai Nakahara (Leah Clark in English dub) as Nora Arendt.

When and Where to Watch

Spice and Wolf: MERCHANT MEETS THE WISE WOLF Ep. 10 “Wisdom of a Wolf and Smooth Talk of a Merchant” made its airing and streaming (aka. simulcast) debut on June 3, 2024. You can watch this episode only on Crunchyroll. In fact, you can watch this reboot anime as a whole only on Crunchyroll for now. If you want to watch the original 2008 Spice and Wolf anime for comparison, then you can do that on Crunchyroll as well.

Spice and Wolf: MERCHANT MEETS THE WISE WOLF Ep. 10 “Wisdom of a Wolf and Smooth Talk of a Merchant”: Synopsis

At last, Holo is smiling again!

Alas, Spice and Wolf: MERCHANT MEETS THE WISE WOLF is an ongoing anime series. In fact, Spice and Wolf: MERCHANT MEETS THE WISE WOLF Ep. 10 “Wisdom of a Wolf and Smooth Talk of a Merchant” only just premiered two days ago as of this writing. Thus, you will all get the official synopsis from Crunchyroll instead of a spoiler-filled plot summary. You can read that synopsis below:

Desperate for money, the wise Wolf proposes a dangerous new plan. But even more dangerous are Holo’s emotions, when Lawrence is being rather dense…

Spice and Wolf: MERCHANT MEETS THE WISE WOLF Ep. 10 “Wisdom of a Wolf and Smooth Talk of a Merchant”: The Good

Spice and Wolf: MERCHANT MEETS THE WISE WOLF Ep. 10 "Wisdom of a Wolf and Smooth Talk of a Merchant" visual by Jū Ayakura.
At last, Jū Ayakura shows there is peace between them.

There is definitely no denying it. It’s the story of Spice and Wolf: MERCHANT MEETS THE WISE WOLF Ep. 10 “Wisdom of a Wolf and Smooth Talk of a Merchant” that’s the best part about it, and it all comes down to our two main characters. All thanks to Isuna Hasekura for the original story, of course. Why? Well, all you have to do is look at Lawrence and Holo. Their conversation, or rather, argument with each other in this episode was just one of the most emotionally raw scenes I’ve ever seen in any anime. You could feel the rage and despair in their voices as they vent their emotions at each other, and the sense of relief as they reconcile is so palpable that the audience feels it as much as our main characters. This is peak hurt/comfort writing at its finest.

And of course, enhancing all that writing is the animation. Studio Passione continue to devote enormous effort into the animation quality of each episode. All to maintain that anime-style medieval painting look the entire anime has shown so far, and will almost certainly continue to show for the future.

Spice and Wolf: MERCHANT MEETS THE WISE WOLF Ep. 10 “Wisdom of a Wolf and Smooth Talk of a Merchant”: The Bad

Let’s not forget the pain that preceded the comfort though.

Honestly, if you’re an action junkie who’s only into action and nothing but, then this episode isn’t for you. There’s not a trace of action to be found here. It’s all hurt/comfort at its finest. If you want action, then you might want to check out Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba, Solo Leveling, and/or Kaiju No. 8.

Keep Reading:

Spice And Wolf: MERCHANT MEETS THE WISE WOLF Ep. 9 “Sweet Honey And Bitter Armor”: Economic Anguish [Review]